Bella Thorne
Annabella Avery "Bella" Thorne (born October 8, 1997) is an American teen actress and model. She is a child model and actress with appearances in more than 20 films and television series and more than 60 commercials. She is best known for her role as the aspiring young dancer, CeCe Jones on the Disney Channel original series Shake It Up!, co-starring Zendaya. Early life Bella Thorne was born on October 8, 1997 in Pembroke Pines, Florida. She is the youngest of four children; Kaili (born in 1992), Dani (born in 1993), and Remy (born in 1995), who are also actors and models. Thorne, who is of Italian, Cuban and Irish descent originally spoke Spanish as her first language growing up, although she has forgotten it due to not using it. She was diagnosed with dyslexia, and the learning disability was written into the show in the episode "Add It Up", where it was revealed that her character, CeCe, also suffered from dyslexia. Career Thorne's first film appearance was an uncredited role as a sidelines fan in the 2003 film Stuck On You. She has since appeared in film and television projects including Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Entoruage, The O.C.(as a younger version of Taylor Townsend), the third-last episode of October Road (as Angela Ferilli, the pre-adolescence crush of the main characters; her older brother Remy also guest-starred in the same episode as a younger Eddie Latekka), and five episodes of Ditry Sexy Money (as Margaux Darling). In 2007, Thorne appeared as a young girl plagued by supernatural visions in The Seer. In 2008, Thorne starred alongside Christian Slater and Taylor Lautner in the short-lived drama series My Own Worst Enemy, for which she won a Young Artist's Award for her portrayal of the character Ruthy Spivey; Thorne described her Enemy casting as a major breakthrough as this was the first recurring role in her career. She then appeared in the ten-episode web series Little Monk, which depicted characters from the series Monk as children. In 2009, she filled the role of the vengeful antagonist in the horror film Forget Me Not. In 2010, Thorne joined the cast of HBO's Big Love in its fourth season, replacing Jolean Wejbe in the role of Bill Henrickson's daughter Tancy 'Teeny' Henrickson (though she had actually auditioned for a different role). She also guest starred on Wizards Of Waverly Place, as Max's girlfriend Nancy Lukey. In addition, Thorne took on a supporting role in the family drama Raspberry Magic. Thorne enjoyed an extensive career as a child model. Since appearing in her first pictorial for a parenting magazine at the age of 6 weeks, Thorne has starred in television ad campaigns for Digital Light Processing, Publix, and KFC, and appearing in print ads for brands including Barbie, ALDO K!DS, JLO by Jennifer Lopez, Kaiya Eve Couture, LaSenza Girl, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Guess?, Target, Justice and Mudd for Kohl's. She also modelled for Sears back to school. In an interview with Seventeen magazine, Thorne described her appointment as the spokesperson for Texas Instruments as her big break, but candidly admitted that she has lost much more projects than she has booked and credited the support of her family for helping her get over disappointments. Thorne currently co-stars on the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up!, (originally titled Dance, Dance Chicago). Thorne plays Cecelia "CeCe" Jones, a dancer with heavy ambitions for a career in the spotlight. The show is a buddy comedy centered around a teen dance show (in a show-within-a-show format) co-starring Thorne and 14-year-old Zendaya. The multi-camera series began production in Hollywood, California, in July 2010 and premiered on November 7, 2010 on Disney Channel. While she had a substantial portfolio of work in television and film, Thorne had no experience in professional dancing before being cast. After signing onto the show in October 2009, she began taking three dance classes every night. Personal life Originally from Pembroke Pines, Florida, Thorne has been living with her family in California since early 2006. Her interests include dancing, playing soccer, spending time with her family and playing with her two dogs, a Cocker Spaniel and a wolf hybrid, six cats and a turtle. She also admits to being a collector of hardcover books, listening to 80s music, and using YouTube as a research tool for getting into character. Thorne is an avid supporter of the Humane Society, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and The Nomad Organization, which provides education, food and medical supplies to children in Africa. Thorne lost her father to a vehicle accident in 2007. Thorne disclosed her father's passing in a live interview on the local television talk show "View From The Bay" in December 2008. Thorne was diagnosed with dyslexia in second grade. She is currently being homeschooled after previously attending a public school, where she had suffered peer abuse. Thorne improved in her learning after attending a Sylvan Learning center and is currently reading and writing a grade ahead. Thorne also talked about her dyslexia in an April 2010 interview with American Cheerleader Magazine, and explained that she overcame her dyslexia by rigorously reading everything she could find, including the labels of cereal boxes.